“When I first heard the news that Chris Cornell had lost his life to suicide, the news hit me hard,” says Mari Fong, who had just recently recovered from her own experience of depression and anxiety. having spent decades as a music journalist. “When Chester Bennington of Linkin Park took his own life just two months later, I just couldn’t believe it. 

Here were artists whose music brought me so much joy but left their lives in so much pain.” Fong thought of the many musicians who died from mental health or addiction issues from the past like Jimi Hendrix, Elvis Presley, Karen Carpenter, Kurt Cobain, Prince, Amy Winehouse and more, and wondered, “Why isn’t anyone doing anything? I knew I had to do something, but something that would actually make a positive difference and create lasting change.”

CHECK YOUR HEAD: Mental Help for Musicians Podcast is where notable musicians and experts share stories & solutions for mental help & addiction recovery Now at 501(c)(3) nonprofit, our mission is to save lives & improve lives within the music community by providing mental health & addiction recovery solutions through education, storytelling and on our website lifeline, checkyourheadpodcast.com. Here, you’ll find hundreds of free and affordable recovery solutions.

You rock and we love you Superheroes 💙🤘

“We want to congratulate our amazing partner Mari Fong, the founder of the CHECK YOUR HEAD PODCAST, on her recent Podcast Awards wins. Mari continues to make the mental health of musicians her top priority and her tireless work on the podcast reflects her commitment to our artists and our industry.  We’re proud to work with her and to support the mental health of musicians around the world.  Way to go Mari, keep up the great work!” - Aric Steinberg, Exec. VP Development & Artist Relations, Sweet Relief Musicians Fund